Grapple.



F. MILNE.

GRAPPLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23. 191B.

Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

FRANK MILNE, .OF CALGARY, .A LIBFRTA, CANADA.

GRAPIPLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

"Application filed February 23, 1918. Serial No. 218,677.

To all whomit may concern "Be-it known that I, FRANK MILNE, a subject of theKing of'Great Britain, and resi dent of the city of Calgary,- Province of Alberta, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new, and useful Improvements in Grapples, described in the following specificationand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, that form part of the same.

The principal objects of-this invention are, to devise a grapple for lifting heavy paper rolls, barrelsor cylinders of various, kinds which may be very quickly adjusted to hold the'object securely and may be easily and quickly released.

A stillfurther object is to devise a structure which will readily accommodate itself to holding various sizes of articles.

The principal feature of ,the invention consistsin the novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby a pair of grapple members pivotally ;connected together are automatically adjusted through the weight o'f theload and locked securely in the adjusted positions during the transference ofgthe-lo'ad' The drawing --represents a perspective view of-a device constructed in accordance with'thisinvention. 7

My device'is constructed'of a pair of metal bars 31 .of-arc shape joinedtogether at their lower extremities bythe 'wood bar 2 which is securely-bolted to laterally turned flanges on the ends of said =bars.

Brace rodsl extend between the bars 1 intermediate of their length and a bar 5 is rotatably supported between the bars 1 adjacent to the upper ends and is formed with a crank 6 centrallybetween the ends.

7 are bars of arc-shape corresponding with the arc of the bars 1 pivotally connected to the extremities of the bars 1 and having their lower ends connected together by the wood bar 8 corresponding with the bar 2, a suitable brace bar 9 being arranged intermediate of their length. The pivotal ends of the bars 7 are turned upwardly and the edges 10 adjacent to the crank bar 5 are formed with ratchet teeth 11.

12 are pawls rigidly secured at the ends of the crank bars 5 and adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 11 of the bars 7 so that upon the turning of the crank 6 in an upward direction the pawls will be swung outwardly and downwardly in contact with the upright ends of the bars 7 and au e the bars 7 to swing inwardly until the wood bar 8 firmly engages the object to be lifted.

In order to release the pawls from engagement with the ratchet I provide a lever 13 pivotally secured to one of the bars 1 and the link ltis pivotally connected at one end to this lever and at the other end to one of the pawls. By the operation of thislever ina backward or outward direction when the lifting strain is relieved the crank bar is rotated and the pawls withdrawn from engagement with the ratchet ends of the bars 7 The lever 13 is swung backwardly until it engages the upper brace 4% which carries the point of pivotal connection of the link 14: thereto below the pivot of the lever and therebylocks the pawls in the open position. The bars 7 are then free'to swingon their pivots and by the simple lifting action of the whole device the grapple will open out and clear the article to which it has been secured.

In order to avoid any possibility of dam age in releasing I provide. a lever 15 similar to the lever 13 on the opposite bar 1. To this lever is connected a link 16 having its outer end connected to the upper'ratchet and of one of the bars 7.

By the operation of the lever 15 thebars 7 may be swung outwardly on their pivots and if the lever 15 is thrown down to its limitthe point of pivotal connection with the link 16 will be below the center of the pivot of the lever and'the arms will therefore be locked open. The jawsof the grapple are thus controlled insuch a way that they can be opened wide and droppedover any article which it is desired to lift, then by manipulating the lever 15 the arms 7 will be swung inwardly after which the lever 13 is operated to bring the pawls into engagement with the ratchet ends of the bars 7. When the lifting strain is placed upon the crank bar by reason of the fact that the lift is made from the end of the crank the pawls are turned in an outward and downward direction and they automatically swing the arms 7 on their pivots until the wood bars 2 and 8 at the bottom engage the underside of the article. The pawls then look securely and the load is lifted. The device adjusts itself automatically and its utility will be readily apparent.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A grapple comprising, a pair of pivotal y con ected membe a p in embme the load, a cranked member rotatably supported 1n one of said members and havlng the crank portion connected to the liftingdevice, and means Secured to the cranked member engaging the other pivotal member and forcing it inwardly in looking contact with the load.

2. A grapple, comprising, a pair of areshaped members pivotally connected together and adapted to embrace the load, one of said members having a portion extending above the point of pivotal connection, a member rotatably supported'upon the other pivotal member and adapted to engage said upward extension to force the pivotal members inwardly to grip the load, and a crank lifting member connected to said rotatable member and adapted to operate same upon the application of a lifting force.

3. A grapple, comprising, a pair of arcshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together, a second pair of areshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together and pivotally connected to the aforesaid bars and having projections extending upwardly from the pivots, a rod rotatably supported between the ends of the first pan of bars and having a crank formed intermediate of its length, and pawls rigidly secured to said crank bar and adapted to engage the extensions of said pivot bars to swing them inwardly upon their pivots through the lifting force and to lock them.

4. A grapple, comprising, a pair of areshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together, a second pair of areshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together and pivotally connected to the aforesaid bars and having projections extending upwardly from the pivots, a rod rotatably supported between the ends of the first pair of bars and having a crank formed intermediate of its length, pawls secured to said crank bar and adapted to engage the extensions of said pivot bars to swing them upon their pivots and to lock them, a link pivotally connected to oneof said pawls, and a lever pivoted to one of the first'pair of bars and connected to the other end foffsaid lever and adapted to operatejsaidv awls, and means for swinging the pivotal ars upon the other bars.

5. A grapple, com rising, a pair of areshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together, a second pair of arcshaped bars parallelly arranged and rigidly connected together and pivotally connected to the aforesaid bars and having projections extending upwardly from the pivots, a rod rotatably supported between the ends of the .first pair of bars and having a crank formed intermediate of its length, pawls secured to said crank bar and adapted to engage the extensions of said pivot bars to swlng them upon their pivots and to lock them, means for releasing said pawls and locking them in their open position, a, lever pivotally connected to one of the first mentioned areshaped bars, a link having one end pivotally connected to said lever and the other end pivotally connected to the pivotal arc-shaped bars and adapted upon the operation of the lever to swing said bars on their pivots.

6. A grapple, comprising, a pair of bars rigidly spaced apart and each formed in arc shape, a pair of bars pivotally connected to one end of the aforesaid bars and rigidly spaced apart and formed of arc shape and with the other bars forming the major portion of a circle, long wood bars secured to the lower extremities of each of said pairs of bars and firmlyarranged and forming grips to engage the underside of the article to be lifted, means pivotally connected to one of the pivotal units of said device and adapted to be connected to the lifting means and to engage the other unit of the device to effect the swinging of the secondary unit into contact with the article to be lifted upon the application of the lifting force.

FRANK MILNE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ZPatents, Washington, D. G. 

